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Lawsuit: Primavista among thousands of businesses in 'wide-scale' denial of COVID-19 coverage

The iconic restaurant Primavista is one of thousands of businesses that have been wrongfully denied coverage by their insurance company for losses related to the coronavirus pandemic, a lawsuit says.

The lawsuit, filed Friday in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, says the Cincinnati Insurance Co. "on a wide-scale and uniform basis" has refused to pay claims for businesses that have been forced to shut down due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Documents filed with the lawsuit, which is seeking class-action status, ask a judge to order Cincinnati Insurance to stop sending letters to policyholders "misrepresenting" that coverage is limited to only $25,000.

The documents call that limitation "false and misleading" and say it was made "to tamp down … claims and provide Cincinnati Insurance additional unlawful leverage in negotiating any claims settlements."

A spokeswoman for Cincinnati Insurance, a subsidiary of Fairfield-based Cincinnati Financial Corp., said the company respects "the rights of all parties to have their issues heard and resolved in a court of law." She declined further comment, saying the company doesn't comment on pending litigation.

The lawsuit was filed by Primavista's owners, Joan and Frank Lenkerd. They bought a policy from Cincinnati Insurance in 2018 "to protect their business and their employees from disruptions exactly like what we're all facing right now,” said Matthew Metzger of the Wolterman Law Office, an attorney representing the restaurant.

Metzger said the policy promises to pay for losses due to the suspension of operations and for expenses incurred to minimize the suspension. It does not limit coverage for loss from viruses or pandemics, he said.

Like many restaurants, Primavista, which is in East Price Hill, was forced to shut down completely in mid-March, after Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine ordered business closures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Primavista has laid off its employees, and the lawsuit says its existence is threatened.

On March 30, Primavista submitted a claim to Cincinnati Insurance for losses caused by the pandemic, court documents say. The next day, the insurance company issued a letter that according to the lawsuit makes numerous misrepresentations including the $25,000 coverage limit for business income and extra expenses.

On April 22, Cincinnati Insurance denied the claim.

"We had hoped that the money received from the business interruption claim with Cincinnati Insurance would help us with reopening expenses. Unfortunately, our claim was denied," Joan Lenkerd said in a statement. "We hope to again serve many of our long-term friends and patrons as soon as it is safe to do so."